The End of an Era
by lborgia88
Summary: A follow-up to "A Planet in Peril":  Spectra, wracked with earthquakes and eruptions, remains on the brink of destruction but long-buried truths have surfaced.  For G-Force, for everyone, nothing can ever be the same again...
1. Chapter 1

In the same manner that I turned Gatchaman episode 102 into a "Battle of the Planets" episode, _Dreams of Deception_, and Gatchaman episodes 103 and 104 into follow-up "Battle of the Planets" episodes, _Truth and Treachery_, and _A Planet in Peril, _here is Gatchaman episode 105, also converted to a "Battle of the Planets" episode. It's a follow-up to the previous three and starts immediately where _A Planet in Peril _left off, making it "episode 88."

I've also used here a portion of another Gatchaman episode not used in Battle of the Planets –episode 78 "Mortal Combat! 10,000 Meters Under the Sea." Again, there's probably too much fighting and suffering in this for Battle of the Planets (though I did "edit out" a _lot_ from the Gatch version), as well as too much plot weirdness (oh yes!) and episode continuity, but I'm not claiming this could really pass muster as a BOTP episode. As ever, I have a much greater appreciation for what the Battle of the Planets writers accomplished!

See my profile page for a link to a version with screencap "illustrations."

* * *

**The End of an Era**

All was tranquil, deep beneath the sea on Earth, though across a vast gulf of space, the fate –indeed the very existence- of Spectra was fraught with uncertainty.

But for one small robot, in his control room atop the undersea facility that was Earth's Center Neptune, it was on the five members of G-Force –all currently on the imperiled planet of Spectra- that his anxiety was focused.

"I'm so grateful to you, Susan," said 7-Zark-7, directing his words towards the small speaker dangling from the ceiling. "And to you, 1-Rover-1," he added for the benefit of his pet robot dog, "For keeping me company during a terrible time like this. Mark and the others haven't located Jason yet and Spectra's mantle is still so unstable, the whole planet could self-destruct at almost any moment!"

Even as 1-Rover-1 yapped and Susan cooed soothingly "You're welcome, Zark," on distant Spectra, still more massive volcanic eruptions were taking place, on land and beneath the seas, spewing forth lava from the planet's unstable mantle layer that both charred the land and unleashed devastating tsunamis within the seas.

"I've never been so worried…" added the robot plaintively.

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The tall coils of the deep seismic energy detectors still loomed high over the chamber that housed the controls for the mantle procedure, deep within the secret base in the Damruk Mountains.

But time had nearly run out –the mantlemeter was almost to the ultimate "F," which would signify failure to restore stability to the mantle and that the planet's doom was both certain and imminent.

Even as a new pod was conveyed along the elevated track to the deep shaft that led to the mantle, the voice of one of the soldiers assisting Zoltar with the procedure could be heard, speaking nervously.

"Sire, we've tried all your pod sequences except this one. We've been releasing cadmixium and plutantrium, all over the mantle, but none of your sequences have resulted in stabilization."

"We're just making it worse -can you recheck your calculations against the newest data… please? This will be our last chance to get it right…"

And the pod was released, plummeting down the shaft towards Spectra's turbulent mantle layer.

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As one, Mark, Princess, Keyop and Tiny dropped through the mist-banded air and landed in low, concealing crouches on the ground outside the secret base, amid the eerie and monstrous statues that filled this valley in the Damruk Mountains and marked the site of what had once been an ancient, underground temple.

"I wish we'd gotten a better explanation from my father," said Mark, looking grim but determined, "But as it is, I'll accept his directive that we find Jason first and then worry about the mantle.'

Princess, Tiny and Keyop all listened, their concurrence unspoken.

"And I'm sure we all agree that Jason's no defector," he added with soft vehemence.

"Right!" whispered Princess. "You bet," burbled Keyop. "Oh yeah," agreed Tiny.

They all drew closer to hear their leader's quiet and rapid parting words. They were all conscious of the need for silence and stealth to avoid the Spectran soldiers they knew would be searching for them while they sought a way to get back inside the secret base.

"But the look in his eyes the last time I saw him… He's in some kind of trouble –maybe even something to do with Mala's rebel movement. Let's get going!"

They all scattered in different directions, dashing off amidst the fog-shrouded statues, one of which surely had to conceal an entrance to the subterranean secret base.

If only they could find it.

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Zoltar stood alone in a large and somewhat dimly lit room that was nearly empty but for the large globe that showed the oceans and continents of the planet Earth.

"Earth," he muttered, sweeping one arm angrily, "You would have long been a slave planet of Spectra, all your riches and resources my disposal, were it not for that cursed G-Force Team –and that Colonel Cronus too! There'd have been no need for a mantle reactor here on Spectra…"

He bowed his head slightly and folded his arms, as his voice took on a more anxious tone. "All my pod sequences have failed. I don't know what I am doing wrong…"

He flung his arm out again in frustration. "How can I ensure this final one succeeds?"

"Sire!" cried two soldiers, suddenly rushing into the room, "Please come at once!"

"Has my sequence failed _already?"_ gasped Zoltar, "Surely not yet!"

He paused but then quickly turned to glare at them. They weren't soldiers from the mantle procedure control room. "What is your news? Report!" he snapped.

"It's a mutiny, Sire!" stammered one of the soldiers, "They're taking over the base!"

"What?" snarled Zoltar, "Tell me everything!"

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Jason reached out to grasp the next stair before him; his arms were trembling, but he'd regained sufficient use of them to be able to drag himself forward. But would he be able to drag himself all the way up this long and winding staircase of metal beams?

_I can't believe all the soldiers took off and just left me alone,_ thought Jason as he continued to drag himself, lifting his head to stare ahead and hoping desperately to see the end of the stairs and a door leading outside the base.

_Something big is going down. I have to find Mark._

Frowning from the exertion, he reached out to drag himself up yet another step.

But then the shadowy outlines of soldiers appeared on the curved wall further up the stairs, accompanied by the sounds of rapid footsteps.

_Oh no…_

The clatter of the soldiers' feet matched the urgency in their voices.

"The rebels have seized the entire north sector of the base –including the aerodrome!"

In the nick of time, Jason had managed to conceal himself beneath some of the stair beams and the soldiers, in their haste, running right over him didn't notice him at all.

But their words riveted his attention and he stared in their wake.

"We must find Zoltar!"

The instant they were gone from sight, Jason pulled himself back out from beneath the stair beams.

Crouching, he wondered if his legs were working again yet. He needed to get up the stairs faster!

He attempted to stand, but almost immediately his legs gave way and he fell over backwards.

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Zoltar had turned his back on the globe of his long-desired target, planet Earth, to face yet another internal crisis on Spectra.

"How many squadrons have joined this rebellion?" he demanded of the two soldiers who had brought him the startling news, "Who are its leaders? They will regret this!"

"Sire, the leader is… your sister."

"Mala?" Zoltar recoiled somewhat in disbelief before snapping "I should have known! She must be in league with Cronus –and G-Force!"

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Meanwhile, even as Zoltar's attention turned to his sister's treachery, the mantle procedure continued.

Another pod, part of the final sequence, was dropped down the shaft that led all the way to the planet's mantle, whereupon it exploded to disperse its contents throughout the glowing, molten magma.

But far away, tremors rippled the surface of one of Spectra's oceans and the seafloor below was ripped apart as a violent blast of magma burst forth and created a massive surge of water on the surface above.

The Spectran mantle continued to roil with out-of-control and unbalanced reactions, no closer to achieving stability…

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Chief Anderson was standing –waiting, really- in a room within the Federation Headquarters on Earth, and a door slid open to reveal a new arrival –President Kane.

"Ah, here you are," said the President.

Chief Anderson turned to him quickly. "What news from the Council?" he asked, walking towards him.

Soon, they had left the room and were walking down a corridor together.

"We've responded to the rebel movement's request," explained President Kane, "But in very non-committal terms. We need to know more before we can truly act."

"We have to trust G-Force," replied Chief Anderson, "I'm sure they'll have some new information for us soon."

They had reached the door to President Kane's office, but they paused before entering.

"I tried to reach Cronus," said President Kane, "With his ties to Rigan Intelligence, he might know the latest rumors from Spectran command circles."

He slid open his office door and Chief Anderson followed him inside.

"The rebels' leader must be someone highly placed," added Kane, walking over to his desk.

"I haven't heard from Cronus since that business with the Fierce Flowers, weeks ago," admitted Chief Anderson as he strode toward the office's large window.

Staring out the window, Chief Anderson frowned, thinking.

_Could it be Mala? She's deceived Zoltar before…_

"You should know," continued Chief Anderson, glad that Kane couldn't see his face, "Thirteen years ago, Mala Latroz tried to defect from Spectra. At the time… no one realized who she was. It's not inconceivable that she might have turned against Zoltar yet again."

He added to himself, in a whisper, "And contacted Jason…"

But turning away from the window and raising his voice, he said "Whether or not this is the case, the question is: Would the rebels be any improvement over Zoltar's regime, where the Federation is concerned, and can they be trusted to any extent? I hope G-Force can get us an answer."

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A squad of Spectran soldiers dashed through the thick fog that swirled around the myriad of statues.

But not far away, a lone soldier stood, waiting.

He was not alone for long as a second soldier, managing to spot him in the fog, came running up to him.

"Now's our chance!"

"I don't know," the first soldier said, briefly raising a hand to his lip nervously, "I've got a family in the capital –if I join a rebellion that _doesn't_ succeed, they're done for!"

He spread the fingers of his hand in a plea for understanding.

Before his companion could respond, the ground beneath their feet began to tremor and quake. They both tensed in sudden alarm, staring all around anxiously.

"Another earthquake?" cried the first soldier.

"What's going on?" groaned the second soldier, his shoulders sagging as he rubbed his head wearily.

"All these earthquakes," replied his friend, "It must be the Great Spirit! He will punish us all for disobeying Zoltar!"

"No," replied the second soldier firmly, "If the Luminous One truly cares about the people of Spectra, he must surely _want_ us to oust Zoltar!"

"Down with Zoltar!" shouted a mass of voices from somewhere in the fog that covered the vast valley floor, and in that instant, the first soldier made his decision. They both began running in the direction of the rebels' voices.

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Mark leaped from the top of one of the tallest statues, his cape's wings spreading as he soared through the fog towards the ground.

Two Spectran soldiers had been tracking him but he caught them completely off guard now, and knocked them both down with kicks to the backs of their heads.

He watched them fall, tensed in a defensive stance lest he have to hit them a second time to keep them down.

It seemed that he wouldn't have to. Remaining still, he listened and glanced side to side, waiting to see if any more soldiers had been on his tail.

_There's got to be an entrance to the base around here somewhere, but where?_

He wasn't going to have much time to search here. Dozens more soldiers were running in his direction now.

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Jason had managed to drag himself up the stairs and out of the subterranean base but then, his arms exhausted and his legs still too limp to support him, he'd only been able to lie there in grass near the statue that, once again, concealed the entrance to the secret base that he had emerged from.

_I need to find Mark._

But Jason heard sounds then though he could see nothing in the thick fog -numerous booted feet running in his direction and cries of "Get that G-Forcer!"

Indeed Mark was being pursued now by four soldiers, all determined not to lose sight of him in spite of the poor visibility.

"I have to show them this entrance," whispered Jason to himself, "Tell them what's really going on… Mala, Cronus…"

He turned from his back to his stomach, pushing his torso up from the grassy ground as far as he could with his weary arms.

"Mark!" he yelled, as his arms gave way and his face dropped back to the grass, "Mark!"

But it wasn't Mark who heard him –it was Princess.

She gasped hearing his familiar voice.

_Jason?_

She stopped running, listening and peering into the fog all around her before running again in what she hoped was the right direction to lead her to him.

Unfortunately, within moments she had Spectran soldiers flanking her and matching her speed –four on her left and three on her right.

One raised a gun, even as he ran, to fire at her but without a second's hesitation she lashed out with her yoyo, striking him in the face and knocking him down.

Another soldier attempted to shoot at her and she instantly struck him down too.

Without pause, she swung her yoyo out again to wrap around the ankles of two more soldiers.

Tripped up, they both crashed to the ground.

Then she caused another soldier to stumble and fall by catching him briefly around the neck with her yoyo's cord.

Then she disappeared into the fog, hunkering down quietly near a large statue to determine if she'd eluded the rest of her pursuers.

She had not.

For a brief moment, the fog thinned and suddenly Princess looked up to see a Spectran soldier staring at her, his gun trained on her. If she tried to strike him with her yoyo, he would see what she was going to do and have time to shoot her first…

"I'm taking you to Zoltar!" he snarled, brandishing his gun menacingly.

But then he spasmed and cried out in shock, startling Princess, and he collapsed forward onto the grass, a white feather stunner protruding from the back of his neck.

Several feet beyond the fallen soldier, with his back against a statue for support, stood her savior: Jason.

Princess could only stare in silence; such was her surprise and relief –and happiness- to have found their missing teammate at last and to know for sure that he was _still_ their teammate.

"Jason," she cried softly, running towards him, and even as she did, Jason's legs gave way and he fell back down onto grass. "Jason!"

Jason was still, his eyes closed, when she reached his side.

"Jason, are you okay?"

He turned his head then and looked at her.

"They shot me with a paralytic tranq," he said, his words tinged with some embarrassment, "Hasn't worn off yet."

Princess wasted no time letting the others know her good news. "I've found Jason," she called into her wrist communicator, her face lit with fervor, "And he's no defector!"

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As Princess spoke, elsewhere in the foggy and statue-strewn valley, a piece of detecting equipment suddenly picked up a signal.

"Tell Zoltar," said an excited Spectran soldier, crouched on the grass over the equipment and studying the readout, "We'll get him those G-Force hostages he needs –I think I know where they are."

His companion picked up a handheld radio. "If G-Force is fomenting this rebellion," he agreed, "Capturing them ought to squelch it fast."

As he spoke, the fog continued to swirl though the now-quiet valley, interspersed with the sinister and ancient statues.

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	2. Chapter 2

Mark, Tiny and Keyop had used Princess' signal to locate her in the fog, and now they were all crouched around Jason, who was lying on his back on the grass, his legs still too paralyzed from the tranquilizer for him to be able to stand unassisted or to walk.

"Anderson's told us, Jason, that… somehow, you're half Spectran," said Mark softly from his vantage near Jason's head, his eyes sad and troubled, "Why couldn't you…"

"You don't know the whole truth," replied Jason, his face bleak but that of one determined to hide nothing anymore, "My mother is Mala, and my father is Colonel Cronus."

"_What?_ Colonel Cronus?" gasped Mark, his pain-filled eyes hardening in denial, "You expect me to believe-" He fought back the glistening of tears that loomed within them. "How can this be? He'd _never…"_

A hint of a bitter smile crossed Jason's lips.

"I can't say I took the news well at first either, but it does mean…"

As Jason spoke, Mark gasped and looked away, closing his eyes as the implications now flooded him with conflicting emotions, more than he was able to deal with. Princess could only stare at Jason, silent and eyes wide with shock.

"That we're brothers," whispered Jason.

"It's true," added Jason, looking now at Princess.

Mark remained frozen, his eyes still clenched shut as he grappled with the revelations that Jason had already managed to process and accept.

Still not looking at anyone, Mark stood abruptly and turned away from them all, folding his arms around his chest as he bowed his head, trying to make sense of the universe again…

Princess leaned towards Jason now, her expression confused. "How..."

"Some brief liaison, on Riga," said Jason wryly, though more quietly, not at ease with it himself. "But listen –I lived on Spectra until I was six. I can remember it now. The people I thought were my parents –Joseph and Kathryn- who died in a car accident…"

Keyop had moved closer, and Jason was looking at him now.

"They're fake," continued Jason, "Fake memories put in my head by my implant –put in my head by Chief Anderson. He's always known where I'm really from."

Tears welled up in Keyop's eyes. "He knew?" he burbled, bringing his hand to his mouth to stifle a sob, "Knew Mala… was your real mother?"

Jason turned now to look at Tiny.

"Known for months," he began even as Tiny leaned towards him, his own eyes damp with some tears of dismay and bewilderment.

"No," whispered Tiny, not wanting to believe what he was hearing about their trusted mentor.

"Remember him realizing it was Mala who tried to defect to Earth thirteen years ago? Well, I was with her then."

"You were?" gasped Tiny, tears running down his face now, "I remember him saying she got abducted, taken back to Spectra. Did you get left behind on Earth?"

Jason didn't say anything, but he grimaced in acknowledgement.

"But there's other stuff going on here too!" cried Tiny, suddenly remembering the mantle crisis threatening the very existence of the planet they were on, and he looked away as he spoke next. "Spectra's whole mantle is unstable and it could self-destruct?"

Jason could only stare for a moment, almost smiling at the sheer insanity of the whole situation.

"And I think a rebellion against Zoltar has just started here," he said, turning his face towards the sky and closing his eyes, "Mala is leading it."

Tiny turned to stare over at Mark, who had heard all that had been said, but still stood unmoving, with his head bowed.

"Mark," said Tiny, "Cronus told us to find Jason, and we've found him. What do we do now?"

Mark was deep in thought, his eyes still closed, and he didn't reply.

"Mark!" called Princess to him, when he continued to be still and silent.

"You okay?" asked Keyop, frowning slightly at their leader's apparent indecision.

"Mark," said Tiny, standing up now and staring over at him, "If this is an entrance here, we need to go back inside. But I'll stay with Jason."

But from the depths of the fog, faint footsteps could be heard, and they were drawing closer.

Mark finally opened his eyes again to glance around quickly.

All around them, the forms of Spectran soldiers were taking shape within the fog. They were still being hunted, and now the soldiers were getting closer to their location.

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At Center Neptune, Zark scrutinized his monitors.

"I still haven't heard from G-Force," he fretted. "I know communication between Earth and the Crab Nebula isn't so easy for them, but this silence… I feel as if I've a massive static charge building up, with no where to go."

1-Rover-1 yapped and then cowered

"That's a figure of speech," Zark assured him, "I won't zap you if you come too close."

Turning back to his monitors, he continued "All I can do is gather seismic data from Spectra with my most powerful long range sensors. I'm running it through some algorithms I've devised to compute and extrapolate lithospheric and asthenospheric conditions on Spectra, and-"

"Zark," said Susan, startling the robot and causing him to spin around towards the dangling speaker, as she'd been silent for quite some time.

"Yes, Susan?"

"My sensors here on Pluto have detected a faint message –text only- that has been sent from Jason's wrist communicator," she announced with breathy excitement.

"Well, that's an improvement over just a beacon signal!" said Zark eagerly, "What does it say?"

"I've just amplified and transmitted it to you," said Susan.

Zark wasted no time finding the message on one of his own monitors.

"Spectran rebel movement…" read Zark, "Has launched coup against Zoltar. I have made an intelligence assessment of the situation personally. Strongly recommend Federation announce support for the rebels ASAP, initiate diplomatic communications. Trust me on this."

Zark paused. "Oh my," he added, "It's signed 'Colonel Cronus, Rigan Red Rangers!'"

He began hastily pushing buttons on his console.

"I must alert Chief Anderson and President Kane at once!"

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Mark had kept his back turned to the others, but at last he spun around to face them, his troubled expression now set in decision.

"We found Jason," said Mark, "But the mantle's still unstable and who knows _what's_ going on inside the base. We're leaving him here."

"Alone?" gasped Tiny, as Keyop and Princess stood up from Jason's side to stare at Mark in dismay.

Mark didn't reply with words; he pulled his sonic boomerang out of its holster, confidently tossing it up and catching it again with one hand.

No one knew quite what to say, but Mark approached the still-prone Jason and knelt beside him.

"Jason," he said quietly.

Since Mark turned his back on him, Jason had been inwardly steeling himself for rejection, his eyes closed. But hearing Mark's voice now, he glanced up at him, his face softening with emotion he couldn't have concealed, though he didn't try to say anything.

"After my Mom died," said Mark earnestly, "I thought for years that I had no family. Now I've got a father again and… regardless of how it happened-"

Mark lifted Jason's arm and pressed his boomerang into Jason's hand, clasping his hand around it with both of his own.

"This will keep you safe," he told Jason, "Until we can come back to you. I don't want to lose… my brother."

Mark had never entrusted his prized weapon to Jason, or to anyone else, ever before. But now he lowered Jason's hand so that the boomerang rested on his chest, and then he let go and stood up again.

Jason still didn't trust his voice not to waver or crack, but he had to speak.

"Thank you, Mark."

Mark had turned away from him, but the hand he raised now to his face could only mean that he was wiping away a tear.

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Another pod detonated deep with the Spectran mantle.

Simultaneously, the whole valley floor was shaken again by a new earthquake, causing the soldiers who had been searching for G-Force in the fog to cry out in fear as they all lost their footing and fell over.

But this earthquake was more severe. Across the valley floor, cracks now traced their way across the vast visage of the "evil chicken" that Mark and the others had seen from the air when they'd arrived in the Phoenix.

The cracks quickly widened into gaping chasms that swallowed the statues that now toppled into their depths.

But one chasm in the ground now expanded to reveal a strange, massive object that had to have been there in the ground for eons, even as the ancient temple with its myriad of strange statues and image of the Great Spirit was built around it. But despite its age and location, it resembled nothing so much as a space capsule and it was made entirely of a shiny, pristine metal that glowed with a strange, golden sheen.

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Zoltar was still lurking in the large and dimly lit chamber, standing near the large globe of the Earth and anxiously awaiting –and dreading- reports from the seemingly dwindling number of soldiers still loyal to him as to the rebels' actions, and from those soldiers who were monitoring the mantle procedure. If they even _were_ still monitoring the procedure.

He couldn't face the Great Spirit. Not quite yet…

A clatter of feet on the stairs that led down into the chamber caused him to whip his head around to see who had arrived.

This time, however, it was G-Force.

"Zoltar!" shouted Mark, catching sight of him.

Zoltar, adopting a stance both menacing and defensive, snapped "G-Force! Am I _never_ to be rid of you?"

"You're coming with us," declared Mark grimly, flanked by Princess, Keyop and Tiny.

He stepped forward, pushing his cape back from his shoulders, adding "To explain what you've done to Spectra's mantle."

"Nothing that you can fix," snarled Zoltar, his voice high with anger and frustration, "You and the rebels are all doomed!"

Even as he spoke, Mark was rushing towards him, and he seized hold of Zoltar's cape and then shoved him down towards the floor.

Before Zoltar knew quite what had happened, he was sprawled on the floor and looking up into the glaring face of the G-Force Commander, and held down by a booted foot pressed against his face.

"There are millions of people on this planet," said Mark, his own voice raised with indignation, "They can't all be as bad as you. I want a better answer!"

Mark twisted his boot's heel, for emphasis.

"Where are the mantle reactor's controls?" he demanded.

Zoltar was squirming in discomfort, but refusing to reply. However, Mark's attention was quickly diverted from the prostrate Zoltar by a cold, shrill and very sinister voice that now echoed throughout the chamber.

"You are wasting your time."

"Who's there?" called Mark, looking in vain for the new speaker, "Show yourself!"

"Great Spirit, save me!" cried Zoltar, still pinned down by Mark's foot.

A massive panel that made up an entire wall of the dimly lit chamber now began to rise up.

This revealed a new chamber behind it –a long, narrow chamber with walls lit by bands of moving colors. At its far end, manifested in a display panel on the wall, was the Great Spirit himself.

It was the Great Spirit who was speaking as the massive panel rose to reveal him. Mark had turned to face the Spectran deity, releasing Zoltar to face this new foe.

"It is Zoltar's incompetence that has brought this planet to ruin. He cannot help you."

"So, can you?" asked Mark, as he and his teammates stared in amazement at the bizarre sight that was the supreme leader and deity of Spectra.

"I have powers beyond your comprehension," intoned the Great Spirit, "But this is a matter for you lesser creatures to solve… if you can."

Behind them now, on the opposite side of the dimly lit chamber, a second massive panel that made up the entire wall there also began to rise up to reveal the large room that housed the pod controls and mechanisms for the mantle procedure. It was empty; the soldiers who had been assisting Zoltar were gone –either to join the rebellion or to flee in despair.

"Zoltar has been alternately sending pods of cadmixium and plutantrium to detonate and disperse within the mantle."

Mark could only stare at the unfamiliar and clearly complex controls, panel after panel of them.

"But the positioning and timing of the detonations is most delicate and critical," added the Great Spirit.

"Oh Luminous One," cried Zoltar, gazing imploringly at his deity as Mark and the others continued to stare into the mantle procedure room, "I did the best I could!"

As he was speaking, Mark sent Princess, Keyop and Tiny to investigate but he stayed to listen to Zoltar and the Great Spirit.

"Perhaps my final pod sequence will yet succeed," he added, raising his hands beseechingly.

"My confidence in you is at an end," said the Great Spirit, "I will not be here to see if you, by some miracle, succeed."

"Oh Light of Wisdom," gasped Zoltar, now truly panicked, "Do not abandon me!"

"The rebels have taken the base –they will be coming to find you…"

As the Great Spirit spoke, Tiny and Keyop were helping Princess pull open a small panel, exposing part of the complicated and multi-geared mechanism that controlled the launching of the pods down the shaft that led to the planet's mantle.

"Make any sense?" Keyop asked Princess. "I need a comm panel," she replied.

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Far away on Earth, at Center Neptune, Zark looked up at the image of Princess on one of his monitor screens.

"I've analyzed the mantle procedure data you just downloaded and sent me," said the robot.

"And cross-referenced it with the latest seismic readings?"

"Yes, of course," answered Zark, still gazing up at Princess.

"And?" replied Princess, her impatient tone belying her calm expression.

"This pod sequence in progress just _might_ restore mantle stability," said Zark anxiously, "But I think you have to stop it _now_ –don't let any more pods get launched; you _must_ abort the remainder of the sequence!"

"Thank you, Zark," she said kindly, but then abruptly she was gone and the screen went dark.

"I certainly hope I'm correct…" said Zark quietly.

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"So where can _you_ go to escape disaster?" said Mark, speaking up now and frowning at the Great Spirit, "The whole planet's in danger."

"_Are you leaving Spectra?"_ gasped Zoltar.

"Yes," replied the Great Spirit, "You have failed me; this planet is doomed."

"Please, take me with you! Please!" wailed Zoltar as he dashed towards the Great Spirit's on-screen image at the far end of the chamber.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of energy and the entire screen and wall shattered. Hastily Zoltar cowered, shielding himself from the blast and the debris with his cape.

Mark too had turned away and hunkered down, but now he turned to see what had happened.

A strange entity, shaped like a gigantic pencil of shimmering gold, was now rising up from the space behind the destroyed screen and wall.

"Please save me, most Luminous One!" Zoltar continued to plead, his arms raised beseechingly.

"Oh, very well…" came the Great Spirit's voice.

In the valley above the base, a long and massive shaft of glowing gold suddenly burst forth from the ground, abandoning the planet, the base, the temple and the shimmering gold space capsule in which the alien entity had arrived on Spectra thousands of years before.

The Luminous One was travelling light.

But he did have a passenger contained within, as he took to the air above the high mountains, heading for space.

"I will need at least one minion, where I am going," said the Great Spirit.

"I am ever your loyal servant," replied Zoltar.

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Back inside the mantle procedure room, Princess and Keyop were kneeling before the opening where they'd exposed the gears and mechanisms of the pod-launching system.

Princess looked back over her shoulder to where Mark was still standing and staring, not quite able to believe that Zoltar had really fled Spectra.

"Mark," she called, her voice tense, "There're no override controls –I'm trying explosives!"

Mark wheeled around to look at her, realizing their problems were still far from over.

"There's no other way to stop the pods?"

Before she could reply, the explosives she had placed amidst the gears and mechanisms detonated and flames and smoke burst forth from the opening.

Some gears were damaged or blown loose and sent flying, but new circuits immediately swung into place and took over. The entire system had been designed by Captain Baldrik to keep functioning even if the base were wracked with earthquakes, even if all power systems failed.

Now Mark, Princess, Keyop and Tiny stood unmoving, looking very small inside the spacious, high-ceilinged procedure room. Each of them trying desperately to think of a way to stop another pod from launching, before it was too late for all of Spectra.

Before it was too late for all of them.

"We're running out of time!" said Princess.

"I know," said Mark, his face grim.

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Deep inside the planet, glowing liquid magma swirled and churned…

But unbeknownst to all, amidst the spinning gears and rotating shafts of the unstoppable pod launching mechanism, a white feather was falling…

It was the feather stunner that Jason had hurled at Zoltar, that had missed him and had been sucked through a narrow gap in panel of mantle procedure controls. And now the feather stunner drifted down to land exactly at the point where the teeth of two gears came together.

And there it lodged, bent and crunched by the brutal force of the gears but its metal spine resisted.

The two gears were now jammed and ceased rotating.

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	3. Chapter 3

Mark and Princess were both crouched beside the opening that exposed and gave access to the dense, mechanical maze that was the pod-launching machinery, staring anxiously at the grinding teeth of the thick, metal gears that they knew had to be inexorably moving a pod toward a launching that would be the planet's death knell.

"Okay," said Mark, his eyes bleak, "I'm going in there. It's our only hope."

But as he moved to crawl through the opening, Princess reached out and grasped his shoulder.

"No, Mark, wait!"

The gears continued to churn…

"Princess, there's no time!" said Mark, turning now to see her face, "I have to go in there now, _or it's the end."_

"There's time for this –there _has_ to be," she replied, her face awash with emotions that could no longer be held back.

"Maybe this is the end for us, but I won't let it happen without telling you…"

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"At the Research Center, I told you I'd always liked you best, but there was so much more we never got to say…"

Mark was gazing at her face, and the façade of "Commander" had fallen away, leaving only the man, all his longing and hope revealed.

"_Do you love me?"_ asked Princess.

Mark's eyes quivered, but he answered without a second's hesitation.

"Yes."

She threw her arms around his neck, her face alongside his, as close as their helmets would allow. She was trembling, trying not to cry.

"Good," she whispered, "Because I love you."

"Good," he agreed, closing his eyes and bringing his hand up to her shoulder, as if to prolong her embrace.

Because it was good, even though he had to leave her now and didn't know if he would survive to come back.

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The pod, one of a series of pods, in the last of Zoltar's ill-designed sequences, slid into the device over top the shaft that would take it deep into Spectra's mantle, sealing the planet's fate. The massive device began to rotate the pod into the correct launch position.

Far, far below, the planet's mantle –by sheer accident and not by Zoltar's design- was on the cusp of stability being restored, but if the remainder of the pods in the sequence were launched, that chance was gone forever and Spectra would be doomed.

But elsewhere, within the cluster of heavy, spinning and grinding gears that Mark was about to try desperately to disable, as futile as that seemed, there were two gears that were paralyzed. Somehow, still jammed between their teeth, the spine of Jason's feather stunner yet held out against their crushing impetus.

The pressure soared… And then one of the gears broke off its shaft and went hurling away.

The massive, rotating launch device, just about to align with the pod with the deep shaft that led down to the mantle, came to an abrupt halt and dropped the pod.

But the pod's nose merely struck the floor, barely a foot away from the shaft but clearly not to be going anywhere near the planet's mantle.

But the sudden, hard contact with the floor had triggered the pod's detonation system.

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The pod's explosion unleashed an enormous, shattering blast of plutantrium.

It burst upward, obliterating all of the pod-launching machinery and even spraying out of the opening that Mark had been about enter. Fortunately, he and his teammates flung themselves to the floor on either side of the opening, and evaded the heat and force of the blast.

Further explosions were unleashed throughout the machinery as a result of the pod's detonation, in a cascade of destruction that guaranteed that no more pods would be reaching the planet's mantle.

Inside the mantle procedure room, black smoke now belched from the opening. The four G-Force members were still prone on the floor. Mark and Princess were side by side, and one wing of his cape covered her protectively.

Mark was the first to get up, walking over to the opening where some black smoke was still wafting out.

"Pod stopped," burbled Keyop in happy relief, also sitting up and looking through the opening at the still and silent gears.

"So, are we saved?" asked Tiny, coming up behind Keyop and peering over him to see for himself (and, in his eagerness, leaning rather more weight on Keyop than his littlest teammate could bear).

While it was clear the mantle procedure's final pod sequence had been aborted, as advised by Zark, it still remained to be seen if this would indeed result in a restabilized mantle for the planet and stave off imminent destruction.

"I'm not feeling any earthquakes," said Mark, still a bit apprehensive, "That's got to be a good sign."

"I sent Zark all the data that I could find in the computers here," said Princess, more confidently, "If his algorithms were sound, then we really did it!"

Everyone sagged slightly, letting relief wash over them. The planet was saved; they were saved.

"A spaceburger'd taste good right now," sighed Tiny, sitting down on the floor.

Princess and Mark and walked away from the opening together, as if each wanted to stay near to the other. Keyop continued to stare at the damaged controls.

"Wonder… why," he burbled, "It stopped."

"I'm just glad it did," said Tiny, appalled to think how very near they'd been to utter disaster. "Fate must _really_ be looking out for us."

Mark and Princess both gasped and turned to stare at Tiny. So worried had they been about the very planet beneath their feet self-destructing, they'd briefly forgotten about the teammate they had left lying on the grass outside, unable to walk and with only Mark's boomerang to defend himself.

And with the chaos and confusion of a rebellion in progress, who knew _what_ had been going on outside while they'd all been down here?

Mark didn't say a word, but he immediately began walking towards the stairs that would lead them up, to get out of the subterranean base.

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Outside, the fog had –for once- cleared and now sunlight was glinting off the strange, long-buried golden space capsule that had been exposed by the earthquakes' tearing of the valley floor.

Had this capsule crashed in the Damruk mountains, ages ago, stranding an advanced alien being on a planet of technological primitives? It was clear now that the one the Spectrans had called their Great Spirit could have left the planet whenever he chose, without the capsule. He had done just that this very day.

Why, then, had he stayed here, the only one of his kind, for so very many centuries?

Was it that the Spectrans had built a temple for him and had worshipped him as a deity?

Perhaps no one would ever know.

All these thoughts were running through Mark's and Princess' minds as they strode across the grass, looking around for Jason.

Tiny and Keyop were slower, but they too now emerged from the base's exit, where the statue that had been concealing it had toppled over and rolled aside.

"Where are all the Spectrans?" asked Tiny, "I thought we'd find an army of victorious rebels."

But as he and Keyop looked around, they too were transfixed by the sight of the golden space capsule, and by how severely the valley floor had been rent by earthquakes.

Was Jason okay?

Keyop hastened his strides, about to break into a run.

"Let's just walk," warned Tiny, "The ground is a mess out here now."

"Got to find Jason," insisted Keyop, pushing Tiny back, "You go look… for Phoenix."

Keyop took one step, and then tripped and went sprawling on the ground.

"No wisecracks… from you," he said hastily, glowering in Tiny's direction as he sought to recoup his dignity.

But then Keyop got a glimpse of what had he had tripped over –it was Mark's boomerang, partially pinned beneath a piece of broken statue.

Mark and Princess were still side by side, looking all around for Jason. They hadn't realized how much damage the earthquakes had been doing to the valley floor, and a sonic boomerang couldn't have protected Jason from a threat like that. An unspoken fear had enveloped both of them…

"Mark… Princess!" came Keyop's voice from behind them.

They turned, and there was Keyop, with the same fear writ large on his face, while Tiny stood further back, his head bowed mournfully. Keyop was holding out Mark's boomerang.

Mark's eyes widened in sharp dismay.

Surely this didn't mean that…

Where had Jason gone? For that matter, where had Colonel Cronus, Mala and the rebel army gone?

This base was a huge underground complex –they'd seen that much during their initial foray with Cronus and that other Red Ranger. Maybe they were all still here… somewhere.

As much as he tried to rationalize, Mark still felt sick with anxiety and he turned sharply and walked a short distance away as Princess' sad eyes followed him. He didn't _want_ his boomerang back –or at least not right now!- he just wanted to know that his father and his brother were okay.

But there was no one here who could tell him that; his teammates could only watch with silent empathy and understanding.

The sun was beginning to set behind the high mountains. They needed to go and find the Phoenix. From there, they would be able to contact Chief Anderson or Zark. Maybe then, they would learn… something.

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Zark was pacing back and forth in his control room at Center Neptune.

"I can tell from my sensors' latest seismic readings that the entire mantle layer of planet Spectra has restabilized. This means my calculations were right –I'd be overjoyed except…"

He stopped pacing.

"I haven't heard anything from G-Force! I won't relax until I'm positive that everyone is okay."

He began flapping his cape and flew clumsily over to his monitors' console, where he began pushing buttons rapidly.

"Ooh, I've got an incoming transmission!"

The face that appeared on his viewscreen was not the one that Zark was expecting, but he was nevertheless gladder to see him than he had ever been before.

It was Jason.

"Hi, Zark, bet you weren't expecting to see me."

"_Jason!"_ cried the robot, "Where… what… how…" He trailed off, wanting to know too much and too bewildered to know where to begin.

"Where _are_ you?" he finally managed, relieved to see that Jason was wearing his G-Force uniform. Chief Anderson had been so worried that he might have defected.

"I'm in the Spectran capital," replied Jason, seeming strangely calm. He was almost… smiling even.

"What are you doing there? Where are the others?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," said Jason, "My wrist communicator got damaged and its comm functions still aren't working quite right."

"I haven't heard anything," Zark had to admit. "I'm very worried," he added.

"Oh, they're fine," Jason assured him, "I was just talking to President Kane and he says Mark contacted him from the Phoenix not too long ago. Apparently they were pretty worried about where I'd gone, and I wanted to let them know I'm okay. But they saved Spectra, you know, restabilized the mantle."

"Yes, I do know _that_," replied Zark, _"I _helped them do that. But what are you doing in the Spectran capital?" asked Zark, still rather confused.

"I came here from the Damruk base, with the rebel army, just as soon as it became apparent that the mantle was stabilized. We all left from the aerodrome at the base's northern end, so we didn't see Mark or the others before we left. I left Mark's boomerang behind for him –the paralytic tranq I'd been hit with had finally worn off and I'd gotten my wrist communicator back, so I didn't think I should take it away with me. But I guess I left them worrying."

"Tell me what's happening! Where is Zoltar?"

"Zoltar's fled Spectra –for good, we think," said Jason, "And me, I'm currently aiding the acting Federation ambassador to the newly-formed Provisional Government of Spectra and its acting President."

"Ambassador? President?" stammered Zark, "Who are these people?"

"The ambassador is Colonel Cronus," replied Jason, "And the president is Mala Latroz."

"Mala?" gasped Zark, "But… she's evil!"

"Hmm, compared to Zoltar?" was Jason's rather odd reply. "Evil, you know, is a relative term."

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The images from the deep space sensors showed the glowing, golden needle that was the Great Spirit, moving towards some kind of blurry anomaly that shimmered against the blackness behind it.

"These are the images," explained Chief Anderson's voice, "That our sensors were able to obtain of the Great Spirit's –and Zoltar's- flight from Spectra."

The image changed to an earlier close-up of the needle, when the Great Spirit was still near Spectra, revealing a rounded blue compartment near its tip –possibly where the passenger, Zoltar, was located.

"We've never seen anything like this before and frankly, we have no idea where the Great Spirit originally came from, or where he and Zoltar are going now.

The images now showed the needle once again heading towards the blurry anomaly and it was glowing even more brightly than before.

"They disappeared inside that anomaly –and then the whole thing vanished," explained the Chief's voice, "It might have been a portal to another dimension."

But now Chief Anderson, standing at a podium behind several microphones, shifted the topic to the main reason that he had called a press conference at Earth's Federation Headquarters.

"I can now confirm that the Provisional Government of Spectra and President Latroz have called for immediate peace negotiations between the Federation and Spectran Empire." He paused, looking at his audience. "And that we have some reason to believe they are acting in good faith. In return for material aid…"

Chief Anderson had stood up and leaned forward, closer to the microphones, to emphasize the significance of his announcement.

"We believe they will be willing to relinquish their slave planets and cease hostilities against all other planets, both within and outside the Federation. Therefore, a peace conference will be taking place, in two weeks' time."

He sat back in his chair now, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief. He still couldn't quite believe that this was really happening. A peace conference with the Spectrans…

And he would see Jason again, for the first time since Jason had taken off to Spectra to find his mother and the truth about his past that Chief Anderson had so long hidden from him.

"Where is the conference going to be held?" asked a journalist in the audience."

Chief Anderson smiled.

Then he stood and walked over to a window. The curtains retracted to give him a view of the Earth's serene blue sky outside.

"The neutral planet of Aquatica," replied Chief Anderson, turning back to face the audience again, "I hope that you all enjoy being out at sea."

Even as he spoke, the Phoenix swooped past in the sky.

On board, Mark and Tiny were in their seats but Princess was standing just behind Mark, with Keyop at her side.

They were home again, but not for very long. Soon they too would be heading to Aquatica.

Jason's chair over by the radar screens was empty, but it would not be for much longer.

He would be rejoining them again on that water-covered planet, and no one was more eager to see him than Mark.

He was staring fixedly ahead, though, his expression serious. So much was changing, so quickly, and it was all for the good but there was no denying, nothing was ever going to be quite the same ever again.

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Jason gazed out the window of the small transport submarine. It wasn't far from the surface, and beams of light shone down through the blue water.

"So this is Aquatica," remarked Jason, "Thanks for giving me a ride to the Federation Delegation's ship, Mark."

Mark scrutinized him curiously.

"Now that you've spent some time with your mother, how are you feeling about Mala now?" he asked.

Jason closed his eyes and rubbed his temple, remembering…

Mala -Zoltar's sister and previously a dangerous foe of the Federation and G-Force- but now his memory of seeing her in the palace in the Spectran capital city flickered through his memory. She'd been elegantly dressed in the traditional ruling colours, her pants red and her fancy blouse, purple. Her long hair had been swept back severely from her face and piled into a high bun.

"So, my son, do I look like a President?" she'd asked, smiling at him…

"And what's going on with her and Dad?" said Ken, more sharply, cutting into Jason's reminiscing.

Jason kept his face towards the window, still gazing at the water.

"I think it's all going to work out okay," was his only reply.

Above, a Federation Navy battleship vessel floated serenely in the Aquatican Sea, against a sky streaked with sunset colours.

All was still and peaceful. An omen, perhaps, of the peace that would be negotiated in the days to come, ending the war that had so long troubled the entire galaxy.

"When Mala tried to defect," said Jason, as Mark hung up the submarine's radio transmitter, "Years ago, he was there with her."

"Yeah, I know," said Mark, frowning as he glanced over at Jason.

"You've talked to him, then?" said Jason, his tightly folded arms revealing some apprehension, "How much did he tell you?"

"That he had no idea you existed until thirteen years ago," said Mark.

Jason bowed his head, thinking of all the lies and confusion surrounding his childhood –for everyone involved.

"Mala asked him to help her –and you- to defect to Earth. He was at a beach with you two, waiting for her Federation contact to show –he'd no idea it was the Chief- when a Galaxy Girl showed up. The next thing he remembers was waking up a day later in the hold of space freighter heading for Arcturus."

Jason closed his eyes, listening, but failed to block the tear that now trickled down one cheek. Cronus had already explained this to him, but hearing it a second time wasn't much easier.

"Yeah…" he sighed quietly as Mark continued to talk, and the submarine glided on through the water, passing schools of small, green fish.

"Much later, back on Riga, he learned Mala was back on Spectra, leading the Galaxy Girls, and he always assumed you were there too. He never knew that you became 'Jason.'"

The sky was darker, yet still awash with warm and glowing color where the Aquatican sun was setting, when Mark finally surfaced the submarine beside the Federation Navy battleship.

Chief Anderson, Princess, Keyop and Tiny were all standing on the deck, waiting.

Inside the submarine, Mark and Jason were still talking.

"I can remember –now- a dark-haired man at the beach that day," Jason said, "But I'd have never known he was Cronus; I couldn't remember his face."

But now Mark popped open the top hatch of the submarine and climbed out onto its surface.

He turned back towards Jason, now emerging out of the hole behind him

"Want a hand, Bro?" he asked, reaching out with his own.

"Still not used to hearing that," said Jason, though he was unable to keep the happiness from his voice.

Mark smiled.

Words weren't necessary for them to understand each other now. Jason just smiled back at him.

And took his hand. Though he'd been feeling just fine for several days now –the injection the Spectran doctor had given him at the secret base, that _wasn't_ truth serum, had been the very combination of amino acids and electrolytes prescribed for post-pubescent Spectran hybrids.

Neither was quite ready to end their first time alone together, both knowing the truth about everything.

Especially Chief Anderson's erasing of Jason's memory all those years ago, letting him grow up deceived, believing he was an orphan from Earth.

And they were going to have to wait for the docking gear to be extended from the battleship before they could go greet the others.

"But don't _anyone_ tell me Princess is my sister," said Mark drily, as they both paused to admire the golden sky and glittering sea.

"Yeah," snorted Jason, amused.

They continued to stand and gaze at the sunset. After so long, peace was finally going to come to the galaxy, and to their own lives.

"I'll be okay with the Chief," said Jason, answering Mark's unspoken question, "I think can I understand, now, why he did what he did."

"One thing I still don't know," said Mark, now seeking to lighten the mood, "What is your Spectran name? It _can't_ be Jason."

"I am_ so_ not telling…"

The End.

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End file.
